Conflict minerals: Preventing military groups from funding their activities

In an effort to prevent mineral extraction from fuelling conflicts, the UN and the OECD have developed guidelines for companies sourcing minerals from conflict areas. The US has already introduced legally binding requirements for corporations, which so far focuses only on the areas around the African Great Lakes.The European Commission has produced a proposal to limit the import of  so-called conflict minerals. These are minerals such as tin, tantalum, tungsten and gold that come from countries and regions marked by armed conflict or that are at risk of conflict. The initiative attempts to set up a voluntary system in the EU for importers, smelters and refiners using these minerals.It is now up to the European Parliament to scrutinise the proposal and amend, approve or reject as necessary. Romanian EPP member Iuliu Winkler, who is responsible for steering the legislation through the Parliament, said: “My objective is to elaborate an efficient, balanced and workable regulation capable of stopping profits from the trade of minerals being used to fund armed conflict while promoting responsible sourcing from conflict-affected areas.”

The Commission proposes a voluntary system rather than a mandatory one. Winkler, who is also the vice-chair of the international trade committee, said it was not about whether voluntary or mandatory would work better: "The real challenge is that of elaborating an efficient, workable regulation." Parliament is divided over whether a possible mandatory certification scheme should apply to everyone in the supply chain.

If approved the regulation would give EU importers the opportunity to deepen ongoing efforts to ensure clean supply chains when trading legitimately with operators in conflict-affected countries. Under the original Commission proposal an annual list of  responsible smelters and refiners in the EU would be published to increase public accountability, boost supply chain transparency and facilitate responsible mineral sourcing. However, the Parliament report calls for a mandatory smelter/refiner certification. With more than 400 importers of such ores and metals, the EU is among the largest markets for tin, tantalum, tungsten and gold.